CBI report indicts Punjab top cop

Chandigarh: Twelve years ago on March 15, 1994, Vinod Kumar, his brother in-law Ashok and his driver Mukhtiyar went missing. They were never found again.

A CBI report now directly indicts the topmost Punjab Police official for this incident. And Vinod’s brother Ashish says the three had to pay with their life for their refusal to go along with some dirty plans of the top cop.

Vinod and his brother Ashish used to run a finance company and they had refused to play foul against their client on the orders of S S Saini, the current Inspector General of Punjab Police, Ashish claims.

IG Saini wanted to settle personal scores with a company, called Saini Motors.

Ashish says Saini wanted them to withdraw from a finance deal with Saini Motors. But when the brothers refused, the IG's target shifted. Ashish was picked up by the police on false charges.

”The police took me from my house and kept me in illegal custody for four to five days. I was severely tortured during the period,” Ashish alleges.

Fearing the same fate, Vinod Kumar got anticipatory bail from the high court, but that did not help. On that fateful day, Vinod Kumar, his brother in-law Ashok and his driver Mukhtiyar went missing.

”After the court gave us anticipatory bail, we saw S S Sandhu asking for a lift from Vinod as he was also leaving for Ludhiana. He sat behind along with Vinod whereas his gunner sat in the front seat. Mukhtiyar was driving the car,” Ashish recalls.

Unable to get the Punjab Police to act, the case was transferred to CBI. The CBI report is now with the Ludhiana High Court.

CNN-IBN’s Special Investigation Team has had access to a copy of this report, which says that there is enough circumstantial evidence to believe that Sumedh Singh Saini, S S Sandhu and two other police officers are responsible for the disappearance of Vinod Kumar, his brother in-law and the driver.

Ashish’s lawyer Ashok Singh says, “The CBI said that all the four police officers - Saini, Sandhu, Paramajit Singh and Tewari - are responsible for the disappearance of these three persons.”

But in spite of this damning report of CBI, no charges have been framed against the Punjab Police officers, and Ashish’s search for justice continues.

After several requests, IG Sumedh Singh Saini agreed to meet CNN-IBN. The meeting took place at the Punjab Police Headquarters. But he refused to come on camera about the disappearance of the three men.

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